I was with a few close friends the other day, and we were talking about our experience of God. Now, please understand, Im’a simplify the context violently here, or we'll never get anywhere. I'll just cut to my part, which was kinda' two parts: First there was my general presence answer. The deep knowing, the... Continue Reading →
I’ve been holding out…
There she is. And there am I, peeking out from m'office. I'm trying to avoid the living room. Why? Because the Last Kid Standing is reading my book, and there is little more terrifying than watching someone read your book. Let me back up... I've been working on this book for a goodly long time.... Continue Reading →
The passage of time (and the Christmas Letter)
I meandered out into the woods this afternoon, a place I've spent shamefully little time this winter. I knew today, almost as soon as I got up, that I would end up out there, and I'm glad that I did. It was a short visit, uneventful, mostly me weaving in and out of trees in... Continue Reading →
Fish fry, COVID, and Torticollis
The youngest and I trucked up to Grand Marais last weekend, to check in on her older sisters. 'Twas a glorious trip, on the verge of peak season for the North Shore. This weekend was full-on peak, and we will be up there again next weekend. So we're missing it by a week on BOTH... Continue Reading →
Nourishment
What is it about time with certain authors that makes me want to write? Anne Lamott. Geneen Roth (kinda). Mike Perry. Looking at the list du jour, it seems that those who make me want to write are those who write like me, or those whom I want to write like, and on my better... Continue Reading →
Book Review: The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich My rating: 5 of 5 stars I think that The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse has been on my to-read shelf for almost a decade. Back in the days when my super-reader-friends were just introducing me to good... Continue Reading →
On the Eve of the End
This is it, folks. The third annual WWF Retreat is coming to an end tomorrow. Sad Face. 😦 To avoid confusion and possible excommunication, I'll just lay things bare: WWF in this version of reality means Writing With Friendsand Writing With Friends only. To commemorate the end of the world as we know it, I'd... Continue Reading →
Retreating with Nabby
Nabs, in her favorite spot. In 2010, we took our first trip into the Boundary Waters with kids in tow. Two years prior, we ventured in for our honeymoon, and resolved to somehow figure a way to get all the kids into the wilderness with us. Spoiler Alert: Careful readers will note that the Annual... Continue Reading →
I’m always right, OR… It’s my birthday!
When I lived in Indianapolis, circa 1999, I used to drive by a house that always grabbed my attention, because I was convinced it must be the house John Mellencamp was thinking about when he wrote Pink Houses. The interstate just shaved that tiny little yard into an even tinier little yard with the brute... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine
I set my Goodreads 2019 Reading Goal at 30 books. I think I was one book shy of the same for 2018. At this rate, I'll hit 50. But who are we kidding, I never maintain this pace for more than a few weeks. 30 it is, and 30 it shall remain. Up at #3... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Almost Everything: Notes on Hope
From my Goodreads review: Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne LamottMy rating: 5 of 5 starsAh, Anne Lamott. I love her so. Almost Everything is classic Lamott, witty, comical, heart-wrenching, and honest to the point of breaking. Her very first words tell the whole story: "I am stockpiling antibiotics for the apocalypse, even as... Continue Reading →
Book Review: The Bean Trees
Man, do I love a good book. I haven't been hitting the fiction very hard lately--I always wonder at the ebb and flow and general chaos of my reading tendencies--but I feel myself headed back down some excellent fiction roads. Thank God. Every now and again, fiction is the quickest way to my heart. I... Continue Reading →